The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday approved an over Rs 1,300 crore project for the construction of a 4.53 km-long two-lane Silkyara Bend-Barkot tunnel along National Highway-134 in Uttarakhand.

The bi-directional tunnel with an escape passage will reduce the travel distance between Dharasu and Yamunotri by about 20 km and travel time by about one hour.

It will provide all weather connectivity to Yamunotri, one of the pilgrimages on the famous Char Dham Yatra and also boost development, trade and tourism in the region along the old NH-94 route, the government said.

The project was estimated to be completed in four years.

The project, a part of the ambitious Char Dham Plan, will be built under the Engineering, Procurement and Construction (EPC) Mode and will be funded by the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways through the National Highways and Infrastructure Development Corporation Ltd (NHIDCL).

"The civil construction cost of the project is estimated at Rs 1,119.69 crore, while the total project cost is Rs 1,383.78 crore, which is inclusive of the cost towards land acquisition and rehabilitation and other pre-construction activities, as well as maintenance and operation cost of tunnel for four years," the government said in a release.

Cabinet okays six-laning of NH-275 in Karnataka

The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday approved the six-laning of a 61-km stretch of the National Highway (NH)-275 between Mysuru and Nidagatta in the Bengaluru district in Karnataka.

"The project road is a section of NH-275 connecting the two prominent cities in the state of Karnataka, that is Bengaluru the commercial capital and Mysuru the cultural capital. Also, it links important places like Mangalore, Kodagu, parts of Kerala, to Bangalore," a government release said.

The estimated cost of the project is around Rs 2,919.81 crore including the cost of land acquisition and pre-construction activities. The civil construction cost is approximately Rs 2,028.93 crore, it said.

The existing four-lane road has already crossed its capacity, resulting in traffic jams and accidents. The road passes through congested and thickly populated towns like Maddur, Mandya and Srirangapatna.

"The project would also provide employment opportunities to locals during project construction. An employment potential of 248,000 mandays will be generated locally during the construction period of the stretch," it said.

With the widening and improvement of the highway, the areas would experience greater economic growth resulting in higher employment opportunities for locals, it added.

The upgradation to six-laning along with seven-metre service roads on each side and construction of bypasses at Maddur, Mandya and Srirangapatna and grade-separating structures will greatly reduce the time and cost of travel, particularly of the heavy traffic plying in the region, it said.

The provision for by-passes will ensure decongestion of the urban areas of Maddur, Mandya and Srirangapatna. An elevated road has been proposed in the dense built-up areas of Maddur.

The project entails construction of service roads of about 60.35 km on both sides, which would facilitate movement of local traffic in the inhabited/urbanised areas. Bus shelters were also being developed at 21 places along the stretch.